Broken Wings
by Lavender and Jade
Summary: Beast Boy is kidnapped and the culprits escape without a single trace.  But when the Titans finally rescue him, he's not the same Beast Boy anymore. BBxRae, RobxStar.  Rated M for violence, alcohol use, horror, language, and suggestive themes/innuendo.
1. Chapter 1: Taken

Hello to all my readers. This is my first ever Fanfic and I am very excited to get this story underway. I've never actually seen all the Teen Titans episodes (don't kill me), but I have read hundreds (yes, hundreds) of Fanfics about them, so I felt it time to pay my respects to the Titans and to the Fanfiction nation.

First of all, there are a couple of things I must point out.

1) My writing is very detail oriented, so for those who are looking for heavy dialogue, I apologize for the early going. I promise, however, that future chapters _will_ be more dialogue driven.

2) This story as a whole is going to start off very tragic, with some graphic imagery, horror, and adult themes, but I promise that in the end things will work out. However, you have been warned.

3) I draw a lot from personal experience and personal demons, so some of what you may read really hits home for me, so if it seems that at times the story gets carried away with philosophical musings about the meaning of life and whatnot, I do apologize.

4) Sections that are flashback are noted at the beginning with the word _Then_. Transitions back to the present are noted with the word _Now_. Confused yet?

5) This is going to be BBxRae and RobxStar because that's the only way it should be. I may do something with Cy in later chapters.

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><p><strong>Full Summary<strong>: Beast Boy is kidnapped and the culprits escape without a single trace. But when the Titans finally rescue him, he's not the same Beast Boy anymore. After suffering a tragic loss at the hands of his worst enemy, will Beast Boy ever recover? Can Raven help him overcome his grief before it's too late? BBxRae, RobxStar. Rated M for violence, alcohol use, horror, language, and suggestive themes/innuendo.

**Disclaimer**: Aw do I have to…sigh…I don't own the Teen Titans or any characters from the DC universe (duh).

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 1 – Taken<span>**

"We have to hurry," Nightwing yelled back to the others. "We don't know what we're up against, but for Beast Boy, we have to keep moving!" Nightwing spoke those last words with stone -like resolve.

They had been running in the cold snow for what seemed like hours. As they approached their destination, they slowed, finally coming to a stop at the large doors of the compound. They stood in silence for a moment catching their breaths and staring intently at the entrance to the old rundown building. It looked like an old missile silo that had long since been abandoned, a relic of the Cold War Era. The Soviet Union had hundreds of these installations spread all throughout Russia, forgotten pawns in a decade-long struggle between two warring superpowers. The landscape surrounding the compound was underwhelming; lifeless tundra with snow and ice spread for as far as the eye could see. Siberia was a harsh place to die, and an even harsher place to live.

A cold wind stirred up and bit them down to the bone, causing them to shudder. One Titan stood apart from the rest, a look of bitter sadness upon her face. She didn't even bother to hide her feelings anymore. Ever since he had been kidnapped, she had been a nervous wreck. But she didn't care; she just wanted him back. They all did.

They had been looking for Beast Boy for weeks and this was their best and only lead.

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><p><strong><em>Then…<em>**

Nightwing had been in the kitchen helping Starfire prepare lunch. As the years had passed he had grown taller and now stood at even height with Starfire. He had given up the "Boy Wonder" costume and changed his name to Nightwing, inspired by the great Kryptonian hero that Superman had once told him about. He was still the leader, but not of the Teen Titans. They had changed the name to the Titans now to signify their transition from young heroes to full-on "Justice League approved" heroes.

He was letting Starfire do most of the cooking, since she had been begging to cook something nice for all the Titans. She'd been carrying on incessantly about some "Tamaranean Banquet of Victoriousness" ever since they had beaten (or, more appropriately, trounced) the "Doctor of Light".

She had changed almost as little as Cyborg. She was older now, and it showed most in her demeanor. Her childlike naivety had long since vanished, a fact the secretly saddened Nightwing, as he had often found it irresistibly adorable. She'd also filled out nicely, her figure the envy of women the world over.

Nightwing was attentively watching Starfire to make sure the food she created didn't come to life, which happened surprisingly often when she cooked. And it didn't hurt that he got to be close to the woman he loved too. Ever since Tokyo, Nightwing and Starfire had been a real couple and made no attempt at hiding it. He'd long since gotten over his commitment issues and was content to enjoy the way things were between he and Star, with no excuses and no regrets.

Cyborg and Raven were sitting on the couch, as usual, Raven with book in hand and Cyborg staring mindlessly at the TV, watching some popular game show about money-filled briefcases and an annoying bald hypochondriac (A/N: Like you don't know what I'm talking about). Cyborg hadn't changed nearly as much as the rest of the Titans. His face was older, sharper, and he stood a few inches taller, but otherwise he remained exactly the same, at least on the outside. He had matured a little as he had gotten older, taking less of an interest in games, but there were still times when he would sit in front of the TV like a mindless drone. Cyborg looked less than enthused by the show, but he didn't bother to change the channel. He'd been surfing for 30 minutes and had finally given up when he made it around for the 3rd time.

Beast Boy, for a change of pace, was_ not_ watching the TV, but was making himself useful by preparing the table for dinner. Unlike Cyborg, he'd changed the most out of the Titans. He now stood as tall as Starfire and Nightwing, making Raven the shortest Titan, much to her chagrin. He finally grew into his body and left his scrawniness behind in exchange for strength and stature. But most of all, he'd matured mentally. He no longer made corny jokes – now his jokes were fewer and funnier. He'd taken a true interest in zoology, owing obviously to his morphing abilities, and now made sure that he was an expert on as many creatures as possible. He no longer watched TV nor did he play video games, except on rare occasions when Cyborg would whine about being bored or having no one to beat at Mega Maze Racers 3.

"Fork, knife, spoon, plate, napkin…yep, that's everything. Anything else I can do for you, Star?" Beast Boy walked over to the stove. "Or maybe there's something Nightwing can do for you?"

He smiled mischievously, shooting Nightwing a knowing smirk. Nightwing glared and rolled his eyes. Nevertheless, he turned his attention back to the oven in hopes that Beast Boy wouldn't notice his burning cheeks.

Starfire turned to Beast Boy and smiled. "Thank you friend Beast Boy, you have already been most helpful. I do not require any other assistance. And boyfriend Robin…I mean Nightwing…is already helping."

She said the last part sweetly and turned to give Nightwing a soft smile. He moved closer to her, and smiled sweetly back as they lost themselves in each others' eyes.

"Oh good lord…" Beast Boy hated it when they began to drool and stare longingly at each other. He decided it best to leave them to their cooking and ogling. He just hoped Nightwing was actually paying attention to her cooking. He didn't want to pay for this meal like he had the last time Starfire had cooked. He honestly thought he'd thrown up his own stomach.

He sauntered over to the couch and nonchalantly planted himself next to Raven. She acted as though she hadn't noticed and continued to read her book. He took the opportunity to scoot closer to her and stopped just short of their shoulders touching. At this point his nose caught the smell of jasmine and lavender and he couldn't help sighing contently. He leaned in closer to take in even more of her intoxicating scent. At this point he was really close to her. As in, _way_ too close.

"My, my, aren't we living dangerously today." She didn't even glance up from her book as she spoke. Raven had also changed over the years. Ever since the Trigon incident, she had become more open with her emotions, though at times she was still very guarded. She let her hair grow out a bit longer so that now it was just past her shoulders. Like Starfire, she had filled out, though she found herself to be a bit curvier than her orange teammate. Even her skin was brighter and fuller, a soft mix of pale grey and pink. All these changes did not go unnoticed by Beast Boy, who had recently found himself drawn to her presence.

"Aw, Rae, you don't have to get all offended and stuff just 'cause I sat next to you" said Beast Boy. He leaned over slightly as he said this.

"You're touching me" she said, her voice offering the threat of danger. His face was mere inches from hers, and his chest was softly pressed against her shoulder.

He waggled his eyebrows and got as close as he could to her ear. "Don't act like you don't like it," he whispered, his warm breath causing a ripple to work its way up her spine.

She began to blush profusely, and she buried her face deeper in her book so that he couldn't see her. "Go away, Beast Boy," she deadpanned.

He smiled triumphantly. He knew exactly how to push her buttons. He had to be careful though; he didn't want to push her boundaries and hurt her feelings. He only meant to have a little fun.

He eased up on the seductiveness and tried a more playful approach. "Come on Rae, you know you can't resist me. And you definitely can't resist 'The Face'." Immediately he changed into a small green kitten and tilted his head slightly as he stared at her with his big cuddly eyes.

She looked down at him from her book, and rolled her eyes, although she couldn't help giving him a slight smile. "What if I don't like cats?" she quipped, all the while trying to stay focused on her reading.

He changed back into himself and paused in thought. Then he smiled a confident smile, happy once again with his quick thinking. He'd been doing that a lot lately, and to be honest he was actually a little proud of himself. _Well, if you don't like cats…_

He changed into a small green beagle puppy (A/N: Cutest. Puppy. Ever.) and gave her the puppy version of "The Face."

At this she smiled and gave a slight laugh. "I've got to admit you really are persistent. It's too bad your jokes still suck."

Changing back, he smirked at her, closing his eyes and raising one finger in the air, as if to quote from a book. "Ah, yes, but you have to admit that some of my newer jokes are funny."

"Yes, funny, but still stupid," she quipped.

"But still funny," he joked back, a playful grin across his face.

"Oh my god. You two are the worst at flirting. Ever. Would you just get a room already?" Cyborg had had enough. His face was in his hand and he was shaking his head.

"We. Are. Not. Flirting," they both yelled, although the fact that they said it completely in sync didn't help their argument. They quickly looked at each other and then looked away to hide their heated faces.

Cyborg smirked at them knowingly. "Obviously not," he chuckled.

Just then their little song and dance was interrupted by the cheerful sound of Starfire's voice. "Friends," she began, "please gather at the table for the evening consumption of mass quantities" (A/N: Coneheads, LOL).

Starfire glided over to the table with two very large platters of food, one filled with green bean casserole, Nightwing's personal favorite, and the other with creamed mashed potatoes, a favorite of Cyborg. She placed them on the table and zoomed back to the oven top, returning shortly with the meat-free gravy for the potatoes and some black-eyed peas, which Beast Boy loved. Nightwing followed her with pot of fresh cheddar macaroni, one of Starfire's favorites. He placed this at the center of the table with the rest of the food, along with a freshly-baked, made from scratch cherry pie, which Raven thoroughly enjoyed.

They all sat down at the table, and Raven couldn't help but notice something odd. "Starfire, each one of these dishes is someone's favorite dish," she said. "Did you do that on purpose?" She cocked an eyebrow as she said this and looked to the other Titans, who had now just noticed this and looked to Starfire for clarification.

Starfire smiled cheerfully. "That is correct, friend Raven. The meal is made of many dishes, each of which is special to one of us. The meal symbolizes how we fight in battle. Each Titan has his or her own particular skills that they bring to the fight. Together we make the perfect team, and thus together these dishes make the perfect meal." She beamed very brightly as she said this, and was even more pleased to see all the other Titans smile back at her, including Raven.

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><p><strong><em>Now… <em>**

They all knew he was alive, they _knew_ it; he was too stubborn to die, and his overwhelming confidence and positive attitude were enough to overcome any odds. But deep down, in the darkest places of their minds, they also knew that when they did find him, things would be different. Just the way he had disappeared, the way it was so flawlessly planned, so perfectly executed – that was what scared them the most. Whoever had kidnapped Beast Boy knew how to beat the Tower's defenses; they knew how to catch the Titans off guard; how to beat them and draw them away one by one so they could get Beast Boy all by himself and overwhelm him. And it was entirely possible that they knew how to inflict the worst of pain.

Nightwing could sense the uneasiness in their minds. He felt it in his own, a nagging thought of panic and fear. But he was the leader of the Titans, and a Titan was in danger. So he had to be strong, had to be the face of focus. Still, he could feel their pain, and felt his own resolve fading as he looked upon their worried faces. Even Raven, whose expression often gave no hint of emotion, seemed a little paler than usual, and she sported an obvious frown. Suddenly he broke character and spoke not as their leader, but as their friend.

"Look, I'm scared too. I know this is hard for everyone. We're all worried for Beast Boy. But we have to be strong. He _needs_ us to be strong. He's counting on us to save him, to free him, and we can't let him down. He's…he's a part of this team, and more importantly, he's a part of our family…"

He trailed off. A sudden strain of emotion had grabbed his throat and wouldn't let go. He looked away from the remaining Titans and clenched his fists, anger and guilt overpowering him.

"This is all my fault. I'm the leader of the Titans. You're all my responsibility. Beast Boy was my responsibility and I let him down…" He trailed off again, silenced by the cold wind and the bitterness in his heart.

"No."

He turned around to see Raven walking up to him. She had a sad look upon her face, but at the same time she seemed confident.

"This is not your fault. It's no one's fault. And Beast Boy is strong – he can handle more than you think. He's going to make."

She paused, strangely overcome with emotion, and drew in a ragged breath. She looked down sadly as she spoke. "I know he's alive," she continued, almost in a whisper. "I can feel it and I know you can feel it too. Beast Boy wouldn't want us to blame ourselves for this – he'd want us stay strong and not focus on ourselves but rather on the team, so that we could work together to save him."

Nightwing's expression softened at this and he smiled at Raven. "Hmm, I guess I never thought of you as the leader type, but now I think you're giving me some competition," he chuckled, and Raven couldn't help but smile as well.

At just like that he was focused again. He nodded to the rest of the Titans and with Cyborg's help they opened the two massive doors to the missile silo. It was dark inside, but as their eyes adjusted they could see a single overhead lamp in front of a rusted door at the end of the entrance.

They made their way cautiously to the door and pried it open. All hopes of secrecy were lost as the door screamed in protest at being opened, but at this point none of them cared about surprising their enemy. A few feet in from the door there was a single stairway that seemed to go down for miles into the dark depths of the base. Their footsteps echoed in the narrow tunnel as they ventured downward into the darkness, and Raven couldn't help remembering the utter chaos of the ambush the day that Beast Boy was kidnapped.

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><p><strong><em>Then…<em>**

They eagerly dug into their meal. Everything was wonderful, which surprised everyone, including Starfire, who half expected the food to be inedible. Nightwing smiled and wrapped his arm around her.

"This is great Star," he said. "Thanks for doing this for us."

She beamed brightly, and was about to offer a sincere "I welcome you" when she was unceremoniously cut off by the blare of the claxon and a computerized voice screaming "Intruder Alert!"

Immediately the Titans sprang to action, the meal completely forgotten. Nightwing ran over to the main console and pulled up the security cameras on the main screen.

"Titans Trouble," he said. "We've got an intruder in the garage…and an intruder in the med bay…and an intruder in the workout room…and let's not forget the intruder in security vault."

There were 4 images up on the main screen, and in each room could be seen a dark figure lurking around in the shadows. The lights were normally kept off when the rooms were not used, and before Nightwing could turn them on, the main power was cut and the Tower went dark, save for the light streaming in from the setting sun.

None of the Titans panicked, but instead walked over towards the window and stood in the sunlight, waiting calmly for the backup generator to kick in. But it never did. After a few minutes they realized that there would be no secondary power – they would have to fight in the dark.

At this point Nightwing was clearly frustrated. He gathered himself and spoke up. "Okay," he began, "it looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way. Cyborg, you check the garage. Raven, the med bay. Star, the workout room. And I'll head to the security vault. Beast Boy you stay here and guard the common room. This will be our rallying point. Everybody stay sharp and make sure you keep the lines of communication open."

There was a round of nods and then they all split up and headed for their various assignments. All save for Beast Boy, who remained in the common room. Alone.

Starfire was the first Titan to reach her destination, and after finding nothing she quickly opened her communicator.

"Friends, there seems to be no one in the room of working out," she said, a rather confused look on her face. "I do not understand."

"Yeah, I got nothing in the garage," said Cyborg. "I've scanned the walls and the floor. There isn't even a trace of an intruder."

"I've looked all over the med bay and I can't sense anyone or anything out of place," added Raven.

Nightwing was the last to chime in, and the frustration in his voice was undeniable. "The security vault is safe but the power generators look like they've been smashed by a giant hammer," he said. "Cyborg, do you think you could get down here and fix these?"

"Yo, I'm on it," said Cyborg into his communicator, and he headed out of the garage for the vault room.

There was a pause before Raven spoke up again, this time with much more concern in her voice.

"Nightwing, I can sense a very large presence in the Tower. It seems to be located…in the common room."

As soon as she said this, there was the distant sound of an explosion. Immediately all the Titans stopped what they were doing and began to running for the common room. Cyborg attempted to head to the common room, but Nightwing insisted that they needed the power back if they were going to even have a chance of gaining the upper hand.

Raven attempted to conjure up her teleportation circle, but just as she was phasing into the darkness, she felt a presence in the room that she hadn't first detected. She stopped midway through the transition and returned to the med bay. How could someone hide from her empathic senses? Her communicator blipped and she picked it up to see a very dazed Beast Boy.

"Hey Dudes, there's an intruder in the common room and the guy friggin' hit me with a flash-bang. I can't see or hear or smell him, but I can still _feel _him here. I'm gonna try and stall but I could really use some backup."

She knew that she had to hurry. She looked around in the dark and spotted a fleeting shadow as it headed for the med bay doors. Beast Boy would have to wait; she had her own villain to deal with. Plus, Beast Boy was capable of handling himself, or so she thought.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

She concentrated on the med bay doors. She used her dark energy to weld the doors shut, hoping to keep the intruder from escaping. As she approached the doors, she could just make out the shadow of a tall, slender woman. But as she got closer, the woman began to get skinnier and taller, almost as if she was stretching herself out like gum. Before she could stop the intruder, the woman slipped effortlessly through the crack under the doors and escaped into the hallway.

Raven thought about following the intruder, but something told her to just let her go. She was able to pick up on Beast Boys emotions and immediately she was overcome with fear and panic. And then there was nothing. Beast Boy was gone and she couldn't sense him anymore.

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><p>Beast Boy heard all of their responses on his communicator with growing confusion and concern. Just then the main doors slid open and Beast Boy could see a small metal cylinder roll out of the shadows and down the steps to his feet.<p>

Beast Boy had the best instincts out of all the Titans and without thought jumped back from the can. Just as he had expected, the can exploded, but what he thought was a bomb was actually a flash-bang. The flash blinded him and he fell to the ground in utter disarray. His ears were ringing and the smell of fumes invaded his nose, making his already burning eyes water.

He'd lost all of his senses, and he knew immediately that he was in deep trouble. He stumbled to his feet and adopted a fighting stance. Though they had taken away his ability to see or hear or smell, they hadn't taken away his most valuable sense: his sixth sense. He could feel someone in the room with him. He could sense the presence of a large adversary over in the corner of the common room near the doors. Beast Boy knew that his only chance was to buy time until his other senses came back or until the other Titans came to help.

He moved behind the couch and crouched down, pulling out his communicator. He opened up the main channel and spoke in a very low voice so as not to tip off the intruder.

"Hey Dudes, there's an intruder in the common room and the guy friggin' hit me with a flash-bang. I can't see or hear or smell him, but I can still _feel_ him here. I'm gonna try and stall but I could really use some backup."

He didn't even wait for a response (which he wouldn't have been able to hear anyway). Instead he closed the communicator and returned it to his belt. As he did, he had his other hand on the couch and was surprised to feel it lift away from him. Without warning a huge fist slammed right into his chest, completely knocking the wind out of him as he crashed against the TV. He fell to his knees, clenching his chest for air, but before he could take a single breath, he felt a wet rag being pressed roughly against his mouth and nose. He couldn't smell anything but felt the fumes of the wet substance leaking into his lungs. He suddenly felt very tired, and though he struggled to free himself, he soon ran out of energy, slipping slowly into darkness and silence.

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><p>As always, reviews are most welcome. Chapter 2 to follow shortly. Until next time, this Lavender and Jade, signing off!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Answers

Welcome back to _Broken Wings_. I'm so glad you're still with me on this story. Just a heads up, this entire chapter is in flashback. I will return to the present in the next chapter since by then everything will have been set up perfectly (rubs hands together and grins evilly). Now let's get to it.

**Disclaimer**: Seriously? I don't own the Teen Titans or any characters from the DC universe. There, I said it. You happy?

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 2 – Answers<span>**

The common room doors slid open to reveal Starfire and Nightwing, both flustered and out of breath. As they entered the common room, a dark portal appeared at the main console and Raven materialized, immediately looking around as if she'd lost something.

"Beast Boy?" said Raven, her voice barely above a whisper.

The couch was all the way across the room. The TV was smashed and there was an empty metal can in the middle of the floor. But no sign of Beast Boy. The main window was shattered from where the intruders had clearly made their exit.

Nightwing had gone over to the couch and was examining the strange tear marks on the back when the power came back on. The communication systems were still down and the Tower was running on emergency lighting, but it was enough for them to get the real picture.

"What in the world just happened?" he said. His face was stern, but there was nonetheless an undercurrent of confusion in his voice.

"I do not understand," said Starfire innocently. "Where is friend Beast Boy?"

The grave look on Nightwing's face was unmistakable; this was no amateur, and it was never meant to be a break-in. These intruders had only one purpose in mind: to kidnap Beast Boy.

"I don't know," Nightwing began, "but whoever did this had this planned down to the last detail. First, they used their numbers to split us up and draw us away from the common room, leaving Beast Boy here alone. They also cut the power to disorient us and limit our communication. And third," he said, holding up the small metal can, "they used a flash-bang, which they knew would dull Beast Boys senses so that they could overpower him and take him without much of a struggle. If there had been a struggle, the fight might have been violent enough to leave traces of the intruders, like hair or blood. But there's nothing here. They didn't even leave fingerprints."

Amid Nightwing's explanation, Raven finally realized the true horror of the situation. It _was_ the perfect plan. They had even thought to stall Raven and keep her from teleporting to Beast Boy's aid. At that moment fear and guilt filled her chest and she tried her best to keep calm. She had to stay focused and strong – they very well couldn't figure this out if they lost their heads. But at the same time she was a little panicked. It was true that Beast Boy could be annoying, be nonetheless he was their friend and more importantly he was _her_ friend. Over the years, he and Raven had developed a strong friendship. In fact, Raven wasn't sure if it was even friendship anymore. Maybe it was something more. But she couldn't think about that now. Beast Boy had been kidnapped and the longer they delayed the farther the kidnappers would get.

Picking up the flash-bang, Nightwing began to examine it for any clues that might give a hint about Beast Boy's kidnappers or where they might have taken him. But the can told him nothing. It was unlabeled and unmarked, nothing about it in any way remarkable. And that meant it was untraceable.

Starfire began to sniffle sadly. "But who would kidnap friend Beast Boy?"

Nightwing went over to comfort her, placing his hand on her shoulder and lifting her chin with his other hand.

"We all have a lot of enemies," he said, "but this goes far beyond anything we've faced before." He paused and his voice softened. "And I'm not too proud to admit that we need help. As soon as Cyborg has the communications system back online, I'm going to contact the Justice League. We need answers, and we need them now."

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><p>J'onn J'onzz sat quietly at the main console of the Watchtower. It was getting late in the day (for him, it was around his 14th hour of duty) and he could feel his mind slipping. Just as he was about to pass out, the console began to buzz with an incoming call. It was from the Titans. He found this to be odd, but never one to question, he quickly opened a channel for the bayside heroes.<p>

Nightwing appeared on the screen and wasted no time with trivialities. "This is Nightwing from the Titans. We've got trouble."

"What's the situation?" J'onn said, the seriousness in Nightwing's voice having pulled his head out of the fog.

"Beast Boy has been kidnapped," began Nightwing, and then his voice lowered. "And not by some amateur. Whoever took him clearly meant to kidnap him and _only_ him. The rest of us are fine, but the way this kidnapping was handled leads me to believe this isn't your everyday, run-of-the-mill villain."

By this time, Flash had zoomed in and caught the better part of Nightwing's opening speech. He was working on a quip about when the date for the wedding with Starfire was (there was no wedding planned, of course) but he was cutoff before he could even start into his joke.

"Hmm," J'onn began. "Can you tell us anything odd about the kidnapping?"

Nightwing paused. He wanted to make sure they knew everything. "Well," he started, "we were all sitting down to a meal that Star had cooked when the intruder alarm went off. We went to the main console and noticed 4 intruders in 4 different locations in the Tower. We each separated and took one of the locations, leaving Beast Boy at the main console."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Flash interjected, holding up his hand for effect. "So you're telling me Starfire cooked? Was it edible?" Flash had a questioning look on his face and was pointing quizzically at Starfire.

At this Starfire began to cry, though not so much about his jab at her cooking skills but rather the emotional strain of the situation, and Flash immediately regretted his little attempt at humor. He just couldn't help himself, but once again his timing was horrible.

Nightwing, who was the most even-keeled of the Titans, suddenly lost his temper. He wasn't sure whether he was mad at the insult to Starfire or the blatant disregard for the seriousness of the situation. But either way he was clearly pissed.

"Dammit Flash," he yelled. "This is serious! Can't you fucking understand what's going on here? Couldn't you for once stop and think before you speak! And how dare you talk to _my_ girlfriend like that. If you weren't a few hundred thousand miles away, I'd come up there and kick your ass." (A/N: Personally, I love Flash – he's funnier than hell. I just thought that for once he should snap back to reality.)

He put in that last part for Starfire's benefit, who had stopped crying and was now paying attention to the console, a slight blush on her cheeks and small smile on her face.

"Excuse me Nightwing, but that is no way to talk to a fellow superhero," said Wonder Woman, who had just joined the party and was walking up the steps towards the main console. "Even one as stupid and immature as Flash."

She gave him a death glare, to which he nervously twiddled his thumbs and muttered a very meager "Sorry."

Nightwing pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "No, Flash, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I guess we're all just a little on edge from this. (Sigh) Anyway, when we all went to check for the intruders, we found nothing. The only thing we found was that the two power generators had been smashed by something that looked like a giant hammer."

"That's not completely true," said Raven. She moved closer to the console and spoke, looking back and forth between Nightwing and the console screen. "When I went to the med bay, at first I couldn't sense anyone or anything out the ordinary. But then I heard the explosion come from the common room and when I tried to teleport there I saw a tall slender woman in the shadows. I fused the med bay doors together and tried to keep her from escaping but then she just vanished out of thin air." Her voice dropped down a notch and looked down sadly. "Only now do I realize she was trying to stall me so I couldn't protect Gar."

She didn't seem to notice that last slip, but if she had she wouldn't have cared. Her emotions were in such turmoil at the moment that it was all she could do to keep from losing control.

Nightwing nodded at her admission, as if he already knew it.

"Do you see what I mean?" he said, concern dripping from every word. "They stalled Raven so she couldn't teleport in and help Beast Boy and they drew us away so that they could capture him."

Wonder Woman looked a little confused at this. "But Beast Boy is plenty strong. From what I hear he can handle 5 or 6 villains at one time. And yet the common room looks fine."

Nightwing nodded. "That's just the thing," he said. "They didn't overpower us, they outsmarted us. They threw in a flash-bang, which dulled his senses. And then they exited without leaving any traces behind: no hair, no blood, no fingerprints, nothing. It's like there wasn't even a struggle. That's when we knew we had to call the Justice League. This is far more than any of us have faced before. Hell, most of the villains we face are stupid or arrogant, either of which we can easily defeat. But this different."

Wonder Woman could tell that the Titans were really unnerved by this attack. In fact, neither Starfire nor Cyborg had said a word, and if she didn't know any better she could have sworn that Raven looked like she was about to cry. She took the opportunity to take control of the situation.

"Alright, let's all calm down," she said. "Rather than try and look for something that isn't there, let's focus on what is there. Clearly these villains were only after Beast Boy. Does he have any enemies that are totally unique to him and not the rest of you?"

There was a pause as they all looked at each other in thought. It was Raven who was the first to speak up.

"When Beast Boy was with the Doom Patrol, they often fought the Brotherhood of Evil. But we took them down together. If they had wanted to punish someone, wouldn't they have gone after all of us?"

She paused again, focused now on this particular detail, thankful at least for any distraction from her emotions. And then a thought struck her.

"But he did lead the remaining Titans against the Brotherhood," she said. "If it wasn't for him, we probably wouldn't have won. And when he was with the Doom Patrol, they often fought the Brotherhood of Evil. In fact, that was their main adversary. But the Brotherhood's still frozen, right?"

Wonder Woman looked at J'onn, who typed in a few commands in the computer. The chamber in Paris in which the Brotherhood was kept frozen had a 24/7 security detail. After a few key taps, he looked back at Wonder Woman and shook his head. Calmly she spoke to the Titans, trying her best to sound reassuring.

"We can't get in touch with the security detail. Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern are all busy at the moment, and the rest of us are tied up at the Watchtower while we're so short-handed. I know this is difficult right now, but I suggest you go to Paris and make sure the Brotherhood is indeed still frozen. At least then you'll know for sure. Good luck."

And with that the call ended. The four remaining Titans all looked at each other in silence for what seemed like hours. Finally, Nightwing spoke up.

"Well, we know what we have to do. Let's not waste any more time. The longer we wait, the worse things are going to get for everyone, especially Beast Boy."

The rest of the team hesitated, but eventually they all nodded in agreement. It was at this point that Raven felt that she had to leave the room. She just needed some time to collect her thoughts.

"I need to be alone," she said to no one in particular. "Come and get me when everything's ready."

She swiftly turned and exited the common room. No one objected and the three remaining Titans shared a knowing glance. Whether Raven would admit it or not, she and Beast Boy had something special now. None of them knew for sure what it was, but they did know that it was _something_. Even if Raven and Beast Boy didn't see it themselves.

Starfire spoke up when Raven had left. "I shall go check on friend Raven," she said. "This must be very hard for her."

The two men nodded knowingly, and she glided over to the common room doors and exited after Raven. Truth be told, this was hard on everyone. Beast Boy meant something different to every one of them. They remembered what it felt like to lose him before when he had been kidnapped by Soto. It had been all fun and games then, but deep down, they had all been worried that they would lose Beast Boy. Now they'd lost him again. And this time the stakes were higher. Much higher.

* * *

><p>Raven glided silently to her room, locking her door behind her. She sat down on the edge of her bed and stared sadly at the floor. She couldn't understand why she was so worked up about Beast Boy in the first place. He was annoying and immature and silly.<p>

"_Why am I so bent out of shape about this?_" she wondered._ "Hell, why are we all acting so scared? Beast Boy's been kidnapped before and that turned out fine. I'm sure he's going to be fine this time as well. What do I care if the tofu-brained idiot got himself kidnapped? It's his fault anyway – he should have been more careful."_

As the realization of these harsh thoughts dawned on her, she was overcome with guilt. _"No. This isn't his fault at all. This is my fault. If I'd just gotten to him faster he wouldn't have been kidnapped. I just hope he's going to be okay. If this is indeed the work of the Brotherhood, there's no telling what they could do to him. What if they torture him and beat him? What if they kill him?"_

She buried her face in her hands and shook her head, trying to shake away the tears that had begun to form in her eyes.

"Grrr….why does everything have to happen to me?" she screamed. "And why am I so worried about Beast Boy?"

To her surprise, her door responded: "Because you love him."

Raven jumped at first, but then she recognized the oddly feminine voice emanating from her door. She shot an incredulous glare at the door then turned her body away and crossed her arms.

"Please go away, Starfire," she deadpanned. "And by the way, it's not polite to spy on your friends."

"Friend Raven," said Starfire quietly through the door, "may I please come in? I think you may be in need of some cheering up." She paused and her voice became much sadder and quieter. "I know I am."

There was a pregnant pause, but after a few moments the door opened to reveal Raven. Starfire couldn't see her face because of her hood, but nevertheless she could tell that her friend was in pain. Raven motioned half-heartedly for Starfire to enter, which she did, floating quietly over to the bed. She sat down on the edge and looked inquisitively at Raven, who had turned away from her. Raven walked over to her shelf and grabbed one of her books, pretending to read it.

"Please, friend Raven, you do not have to hide your feelings from me," Starfire gently pleaded. "I know that you are worried about friend Beast Boy."

"Of course I'm worried," she snapped back quickly, still not turning to look at her orange friend. "We're all worried for Beast Boy."

"That is true, friend Raven," said Starfire. "But none of us feels for Beast Boy as you do."

Raven immediately spun around, a look of apparent shock on her face, but she quickly recovered and put on a more stoic expression.

"What are you implying, Starfire?" she deadpanned, though there was an undercurrent of nervousness in her voice. "That I have 'feelings' for Beast Boy? That's ridiculous. How could I have feelings for an annoying goofball with the maturity of a 5 year old? You're wrong Starfire. Beast Boy is just a friend and teammate, but nothing more." She looked away, trying hard to appear as if she was concentrating on her book.

Starfire walked softly over and placed her hand on Raven's shoulder. Raven jumped slightly at her touch and dropped her book, but didn't turn around to face her.

"I must disagree with you, friend Raven," she began softly, with a hint of comfort in her voice. "I believe you _do_ have 'the feelings' for friend Beast Boy. And that is why you are being so hard on yourself. You feel that all this is your fault, that if you had gotten there quicker or been at his side you could have rescued him. But it is not your fault. It is no one's fault."

Starfire could feel Raven begin to shudder and she gently turned her friend around to face her. Raven's head was down under her hood, but she could still hear her sniffling softly. Raven had changed much over the years, so much in fact that she no longer required constant control over her emotions. She could laugh, smile, shout, cry, and more without worrying about destroying anything or anyone. And yet she still remained stoic, a product now of habit rather than necessity. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help the slow streams of tears that began to push their way down her face. If she couldn't hide her feelings from Starfire, how could she possibly hide them from herself?

"What does it matter anyway," she croaked. "He's just a prankster and he thinks of me as nothing but a punch line. He never takes me seriously. Hell, he doesn't even take himself seriously."

"But friend Raven," said Starfire as she guided Raven over to the bed and sat her down. "Do you not see? That is his way of showing that he cares for you. He is always trying to make you laugh or make you smile because he can't stand to see you so unhappy all the time."

Raven looked up at Starfire. Her eyes were red and there were two wet streaks down the sides of her face. She drew in a ragged breath and let her hood down, brushing the hair out of her face as she did.

"I'm just so confused Starfire," she said. "All these feelings are new to me and I'm scared of what might happen if I let myself open up to them. And even if I do have feelings for Beast Boy, he's gone now and we don't know where he's been taken or if he's okay. For all we know he could be dead. It's all just so unfair." Her voiced hitched painfully and she buried her face in hands.

"You must not think like that, friend Raven," said Starfire forcefully, a determined look painted across her face. "Friend Beast Boy is a great hero and a strong young man. We must not lose hope that he is giving them 'the Hell' as we speak. He is a great warrior, worthy even of the greatest standards of Tamaran." She paused and tired to lighten the mood with her own attempt at of humor. "If nothing else, friend Beast Boy can do the bugging of them to the dead."

Raven chuckled and raised her head out of her hands. "I think you mean 'bug them to death'."

Raven and Starfire both laughed at her mistake, and then embraced in a gentle hug.

"Thanks Starfire," Raven said, wiping the tear stains from her cheeks. "You're a really great friend."

"You are more than just my friend," said Starfire softly. "You are my sister, just like Beast Boy is my brother. You are all my family. And that is why we cannot give up. We must victorious against our enemy and rescue friend Beast Boy." She pumped her fist in the air mightily and gave a Raven a confident grin.

"Beware the power of family," said Raven in her signature monotone, sporting her own confident smile.

* * *

><p>The room was dark and cold and smelled oddly of rusted metal and sulfur. Beast Boy could feel himself slowly coming round, and as his eyes slowly began to focus, he got a much clearer picture of the room. It was a small room and it was shaped like a half-barrel. The walls were made of rusted corrugated metal sheets, and there was a single line of lights down the middle of the ceiling. Most of the lights weren't lit, except for one directly above Beast Boy and one about 10 feet away at the other end of the room. Beast Boy could just make out another prisoner under the light, his hands and feet chained to the curved walls. As his vision came into to focus, he could also see a large figure lurking in the shadows behind the prisoner, flanked on its right be the small, slender figure of a woman. To the left of the prisoner was a cone shaped blur that stood about 4 feet tall.<p>

With painful clarity, the image of the blur came into perfect focus. And Beast Boy knew exactly who it was.

"You," Beast Boy snarled, and he began to struggle under his own restraints. His hands and feet were also chained to the walls, and there was an odd clamp around his neck. His first thoughts were to change into a snake to free his hands and feet, but as he began to change, the collar gave off an excruciating electrical shock and he was jolted back to his human form.

The Brain scooted forward into the darkness and emerged into the light just a few feet from Beast Boy's face.

"You. Will. Find. Your. Attempts. To. Change. Are. Pointless. Little. Green. One. You. Cannot. Escape."

The Brain paused, then turned to face the other prisoner. Beast Boy hadn't really noticed at first who he was, but as he now took notice, his face paled in horror.

"Cliff. No," he said, his voice almost inaudible.

"Oh yes, dear boy," said Monsieur Mallah, who emerged from behind Robotman. "We have been waiting for this ever since we escaped our frozen prisons." He snarled menacingly. "And revenge _is_ a dish best served cold, wouldn't you say, Madam Rouge?"

Madam Rouge stepped out from the shadows and stood in front of Robotman, lifting his face with her hand. She dropped it roughly then glanced over to the side at the door to room, an evil grin on her face. General Immortus was leaning against the wall, enjoying the spectacle as it unraveled before him.

"Quite true, Monsieur Mallah. And with what we've got planned for you," she said pointing to Beast Boy, "you're going to wish you were dead. But we're not going to kill you. Not just yet. First, you must suffer. Then you can die." She laughed manically, and her laughter was joined by that of Monsieur Mallah, General Immortus, and the Brain, whose computerized attempt at laughing sent chills down Beast Boy's spine.

Then they all stopped and Monsieur Mallah and Madam Rouge shared an evil smile.

"Enough. Trivialities. Let. Us. Begin," said the Brain, who had moved back down to join the other three villains.

General Immortus nodded and strode over to Robotman. He had something in his right hand that Beast Boy couldn't quite make out. That is, until General Immortus placed it on the back of Robotman's head. It was a drill.

* * *

><p>Let the horror begin. I always hate cliff hangers when I'm reading but I just couldn't resist. It looks like this is going to be a weekly thing, so expect Chapter 3 to be up by early next week. Until then, this is Lavender and Jade, signing off!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: 'They Made Him Watch'

Hello again everyone and welcome back to _Broken Wings_. As I have previously mentioned, this story is going to have some tragic moments, starting with this chapter. However, the way I envisioned this chapter developing was much more graphic than what ultimately made it on paper (thankfully). I know this chapter is going to seem _reall_y horrific at times, but it ties into Beast Boy's transformation, so unfortunately it's necessary. Anyway, here goes.

**Disclaimer**: Nope. Don't own any of the DC universe characters, including the Teen Titans. Moving on.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3 – 'They Made Him Watch'<strong>

The T-Jet landed roughly in front of a large stone building on the outskirts of Paris. Most of the frozen villains the Titans had defeated had been taken to separate facilities around the world suitable to countering their powers. This particular facility was ideal for the Brotherhood of Evil because it was incased two hundred feet below the surface in solid granite.

The facility itself was cleverly hidden under an insurance claims office. The insurance company was also a real company, and most of its employees had no earthly clue that there was a large, nitrogen gas freezer two hundred feet below.

As the Titans exited the T-Jet, they noticed that the building looked unharmed, which was comforting, and yet somehow disappointing. They did not speak to each other as they approached the side entrance to the building. None of them had spoken a word since they had left the Tower. They were all very anxious to get some answers. On the one hand, if the Brotherhood of Evil was still imprisoned, they could rest easy – with villains like the Brotherhood on the loose, no one was safe. And yet secretly they all hoped that the Brotherhood was missing, since that would confirm their suspicions about Beast Boy's kidnappers, and while the situation would clearly be dire, nothing makes a superhero more anxious than the threat of the unknown.

On the side of the building was an unassuming side door, clearly the service entrance, which was mostly used for smoking breaks and mail calls. Except, of course, for nights like this. As they approached the door, Nightwing pulled out a small plastic security card and swiped it across the security scanner. In the past this might have drawn some attention to the Titans, but nowadays a lot of new buildings had security scanners, so this with nothing out of the ordinary. At least until they opened the door.

Instead of opening into the insurance office, the door opened to reveal a large elevator (A/N: My own personal nod to 'Get Smart', minus the phone booth). The Titans entered, and as the door closed behind them, they began to descend deeper into the heart of the facility. The elevator ride was uncomfortably silent, and no one seemed to have the nerve to say anything. They all seemed to be handling the tension in their own way: Nightwing was riffling through his utility belt, Starfire was smoothing out her skirt, Cyborg was checking something on his arm scanner, and Raven was straightening out her hood.

After a long descent, the elevator doors opened to reveal a long, dimly lit corridor. Years of villains and crime fighting had made them all wary of unexpected surprises, so they had been on their guard the moment the elevator had stopped. Once the doors had opened, they saw two security guards in front of a large vault at the end of the hall.

Nightwing led the way down and they all stopped at the vault door.

"We're here to check on the vault," he said, his demeanor betraying that he meant business.

The two men looked at each other for a moment and Nightwing could immediately sense that something was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye he caught one of the guards reaching behind his back.

With cat-like reflexes, Nightwing drew out his bo staff and pelted the guard across the nose, knocking him unconscious. Before the second guard could react he was enveloped in black energy and slammed harshly against the ceiling. He slumped to the ground as Raven released her hold on him. As Cyborg began to check them for ID, he spotted a small cloth armband on the second guard. On the band, there was a skull: the signet of the Brotherhood.

"Well if that doesn't answer our question, I don't know what will," said Cyborg, trying his best to sound positive.

"We still need to be sure," said Nightwing. "Raven, can you get the door?"

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

The vault door was encased in black energy and ripped off its hinges. Freezing cold gas poured out of the subterranean fridge, and as the steam cleared, the Titans did indeed get the answer they'd been looking for. And unfortunately, much more.

The refrigerated chambers in the vault were all completely empty, and the vault as a whole was bare, save for a small pink colored object sitting on a table in the back. As the Titans drew closer, Starfire put her hands to her face and gasped in horror. Nightwing inhaled sharply and his eyes widened, and Cyborg had to look away to keep from vomiting. Raven just stared silently, looking a pale shade of green.

The pink colored object was a human hand. The edges around the wound implied that it had been ripped off rather than cut cleanly. Beside the dismembered appendage, there was a small note.

Reluctantly, Cyborg picked it up and read it aloud.

_To the Titans,_

_Though we would love to stay and chat, we just couldn't find the time to catch up on old adventures together. Rest assured, however, we have not left you 'empty-handed.' It is truly a pity, though; she sang with such sweet music until we ripped her hand off. As it turns out, Elasti-Girl isn't as limber as you might think. And you can be sure we'll treat the green elf to a good time as well – we have something special planned for him._

_Until we meet again,_

_The Brotherhood of Evil _

Cyborg ground his teeth together in anger as he finished reading. He crumpled the note in his hand and turned away in disgust. Starfire was crying hysterically at this point and was holding closely to Nightwing, who had a look a sheer horror on his face. Raven's normally stoic expression had paled a few more notches, if that was possible, and she wore a noticeably morbid expression.

Nightwing was the first to speak up. "I guess that means they've kidnapped more than just Beast Boy. Now they've got the whole Doom Patrol. This is worse than we could have possibly imagined."

They all stood as still as stone, acknowledging his statement with their silence. This was truly turning into a nightmare, the sheer horror being that they now knew just how far the Doom Patrol was willing to go. They'd never before tortured the Doom Patrol to the point of ripping off body parts, so this was new ground for everyone. And they didn't like it. The room may have been frozen in ice, but the Titans were frozen in terror.

* * *

><p>At the sight of the drill, Beast Boy's heart began to pound against his rib cage violently. He watched in disbelief as General Immortus pressed down firmly on the drill and began to bore a hole in the back of Robotman's metallic head. Now he understood all too well the Brotherhood's intentions. Cliff's body may have been repairable, but his brain was the last piece of his humanity, and ultimately the only thing keeping him alive.<p>

When General Immortus had finished, Madam Rouge walked over to Robotman and lifted his head to examine the hole. Satisfied with the results, she turned to Beast Boy and grinned.

"I always thought the Doom Patrol was a little too 'black and white'. At least now _he_ has an open mind."

"You bastards," snarled Beast Boy. "What's the point of all this anyway? You tryin' to get a rise out of me? Or are you just too scared to fight me yourselves?"

"You'll get your chance little elf," said Monsieur Mallah. He walked over behind Beast Boy and grabbed his head, holding it level so that Beast Boy was facing cliff. "For now, why don't you enjoy the show."

Beast Boy's face paled as he realized what Mallah was implying and he began to struggle. He remembered that the collar electrocuted him when he tried to change, so he figured he could at least shock Monsieur Mallah as well. He tried to change and indeed was shocked. He could handle the pain as long as it worked. But to his surprise it didn't. Monsieur Mallah held fast to his head.

The giant ape grinned evilly. "Clever boy, but these gloves of mine are made of rubber and are completely insulated. Struggle all you want, you _will_ see this." He gestured with his face toward the Doom Patrol member chained at the other end of the room.

Beast Boy began to panic, and did the only thing he could think to do: stall. He had to buy time for the rest of the Doom Patrol and the Titans to come and rescue him. As long as he got the Brotherhood to carry on about how great they were, he and Cliff would have a chance. He put on his best 'tough guy' act and spoke coldly, trying not to sound afraid.

"Only the weakest villains go after a hero's friends and family. And besides, once the rest of the Doom Patrol finds out what you've done with Cliff and me, you're gonna pay. And let's not forget _my_ friends. You are so screwed."

The Brain emerged from the shadows and stopped just short of Beast Boy's face.

"On. The. Contrary. Beast. Boy. There. Will. Be. No. Rescue. From. The. Doom. Patrol. Because. They. Are. All. Here. With. Us. And. The. Titans. Are. Inconsequential. We. Made. The. Wrong. Choice. Last. Time. By. Kidnapping. The. Boy. Blunder. When. We. Should. Have. Taken. You. Instead. And. We. Don't. Make. The. Same. Mistakes. Twice. Now. Let. Us. Begin."

He turned to face Robotman and his cryogenic brain began to glow bright green. A faint green aura surrounded Robotman and he began to stir.

"Ugh…where the Hell am I?" he said. He soon noticed his restraints and began to struggle against the chains. "What the Hell's goin' on here? What's the meaning of this? Oh, there's gonna be some serious skull-crackin' when I get out of these chains."

He squinted in Beast Boy's direction and finally realized what was going on.

"Beast Boy? You bastards. If you've hurt him I swear I'll fuck you up so bad that they won't be able to find enough of you to put in a plastic bag."

At this point Beast Boy was hyperventilating and it was all he could do to keep from passing out. He knew what was next, he knew that this was it – this was the end for Cliff. His friend. His brother.

"Listen to me Cliff," he pleaded. "Just stay calm, okay. We're gonna get through this. We're gonna be okay. The Titans will save us. We just gotta hang on."

Out of the darkness, two silky black gloves reached out and grabbed Robotman's head, tilting it forward so that he was facing the concrete floor. For as slender as she was, Madam Rouge was incredibly strong, and try as he might he couldn't free himself from her grasp. He began to shout and object, but it was no use.

Tears began streaming down Beast Boys face as General Immortus, who had walked off into the darkness to put the drill away, returned now with a small metal bucket. Beast Boy tried to look away, but Monsieur Mallah held fast. He thought about closing his eyes, but somehow he just couldn't. The Brotherhood was going to murder Cliff and not matter what he did, he was going to see it all.

As Madam Rouge held Robotman's head in place, General Immortus began to pour the contents of the bucket directly into the hole. And right onto Cliff's exposed brain.

He began to scream, and his screams were truly unearthly. Even Madam Rouge was caught off guard by how mortifying they were and she nearly lost her grip on his head. Robotman immediately began to flail uncontrollably and it was all she could do just to hold on. The acid ate away at his brain slowly as he writhed around in excruciating pain.

By this time Beast Boy was screaming in pain as well. But his pain was self-inflicted: he was constantly trying to change into something, anything, just so he could escape his restraints. The dark room was surprising well lit for ten minutes with flashes of bright white sparks as Beast Boy was shocked over and over again, trying in vain to escape his chains. Monsieur Mallah had long since let loose of him and stood almost pensive in the darkness, a devious grin on his face.

The last thing Beast Boy saw before losing consciousness was the acid eating its way through Cliff's face and draining the remains of his brain onto the floor. And then there was silence.

* * *

><p>The flight back to the Tower was deathly quiet. None of the Titans said a word, mainly because they we're all still in shock. The Titans had faced countless villains over the years, but in all that time none of them had ever witnessed something as real as this. All except Nightwing, that is. He understood better than any of them the horror of the situation. He could remember a few nights during his years in Gotham when things had been just as real. And he'd tried everything to forget about them. But now he was struck with that same feeling, the feeling that your stomach is being ripped out through your throat. The darkness was truly upon them now.<p>

The T-Jet landed on the top of the Tower and the Titans exited as it descended into the holding bay. No one said a word when they reached the common room. Cyborg collapsed on the couch, leaning forward and placing his face in his hands. Nightwing strode over to the window and stood staring at the sun setting over the monoliths of Jump City. Starfire was at his side, holding his hand, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Raven sat at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, which she'd made as they'd entered but had since neglected to drink. Instead she held it firmly in her hands, as if by letting go she would lose her grip on reality.

Nightwing, as the leader, was the first to speak up. "I know right now everyone's a little …raw… from what we saw in Paris, but we really need to focus on finding Beast Boy and the rest of the Doom Patrol." He said that last part grimly, as if he'd already accepted that Rita was dead.

"That's easier said than done," said Cyborg with a sigh. "When Beast Boy was with the Doom Patrol he said that the Brotherhood could disappear into hiding for years on end."

"But if they do go into hiding for so long, what will happen to friend Beast Boy?" said Starfire sadly. She'd been so drained by the ordeal that she had no positive energy left and therefore could not even levitate.

Nightwing sighed and his shoulders drooped uncharacteristically. "I hate to admit it, but unless we can somehow find a lead or get some more help, it may be a long time before we ever see Beast Boy again."

"No," said Raven as she slammed her fist on the table, nearly spilling her tea. Her little outburst caught the rest of the Titans completely off guard.

"That's not good enough!" she yelled as she got up from the table and walked over to the group. "Beast Boy is a part of this family and I'm not just going to sit by while the Brotherhood does God knows what to him. No matter what it takes, we _have_ to find Beast Boy."

The rest of the Titans looked at each other in turn, then to Raven, and finally to Nightwing. He had a confident look on his face, his strength renewed once more.

"Raven's right. There has to be a way. We can't just expect things to always come our way as they have in the past. We're heroes for heaven's sake; we make the world safe for everyone, including each other. And we _are_ a family. And families stick together, no matter what."

They all nodded in agreement, and with faith and hope reborn anew within them, they began to brainstorm their options.

"We can't expect the Brotherhood to leave any clues as to their whereabouts," Nightwing mused aloud to himself. "They're much too smart for that. Cyborg, is there any way we can use the Tower's communication system to pick up the brain waves of The Brain? With his telekinetic powers, he has to leave some sort of tangible footprint on the Earth's electromagnetic field."

"That's true, but even if I could," Cyborg began, "we would need a pretty big tuner to locate and amplify his unique signature. First of all, I have no idea what kind of effect his telekinetic powers would have on the Earth's EM field, and more importantly, the technology to create such a tuner just doesn't exist. Even the Watchtower doesn't have that kind of technology."

There was a pause of silence and all the Titans tried to think of some way around the non-existent technology.

At last Raven spoke up, her voice both apprehensive and hopeful. "You can use me instead."

The other Titans stared at her in silence, not quite sure what to make of Raven's statement. Starfire had a puzzled look on her face as she tried to understand what Raven had said. There were still some Earthly things that she couldn't quite grasp, and she wasn't sure if this was one of them.

"I do not understand friend Raven," she said. "You wish to use yourself as this 'tuner'?"

"Actually, that's exactly what I mean," said Raven with no hint of sarcasm in her voice. In fact, she was dead serious.

She could tell the other Titans had no clue what she was talking about, so she attempted to explain it to them as best as she could.

"It's like this: each individual has their own unique imprint that is defined by their emotions and, in essence, their aura. My empathic abilities allow me to sense this energy, and therefore I am able to identify people based solely on their auras. But my powers only cover a limited range of about 1 mile or so. There's no way I could cover the entire globe."

As she finished, Cyborg's eyes brightened in realization. He didn't need the technology after all.

"We can use Raven and the communication dish on the Watchtower together as an antenna," he began excitedly. "With a few modifications, I can make it so that the dish detects disturbances in the Earth's electromagnetic field specifically related to biological phenomena. Considering the sheer magnitude of evil coming from the Brotherhood, their electromagnetic signature should stand out easily from most other biologic disturbances. However, even with the Watchtowers technology, I can probably only boost your range to a few hundred square miles. But if we're lucky we might be able to find them without having to scan the whole Earth."

"Well, that's better than nothing," said Nightwing, excitement and fervor exuding from his voice. "And it's the only option we have. So it's settled. Cyborg, get in touch with the Watchtower and update them on the situation. We need their full cooperation if we're going to make this work. After we get to the Watchtower, Raven, I want you to work with Cyborg on making the necessary modifications to the dish. Starfire, I need you to get in touch with the Honorary Titans and Titans East. Let them know what's going on and see if you can round up four or five of them to take over our duties here in Jump City while we're away. I'm going to talk to Bruce; he's had more experience with mentally disturbed villains than anyone else on Earth. He may be able to put together a psychological profile for the Brotherhood that will help us narrow down our search. All right, Titans Go!"

And all at once, the Tower was alive again with purpose.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Four weeks later…<strong>_

Raven was exhausted. The days were long and using her empathic ability for extended periods of time was a real strain on her mind _and_ her body. Today was no different. It was late, sometime between 2 and 3 AM Jump City time. She'd been searching the southern portion of Africa all day with no luck. In the past three weeks she'd already searched the majority of North America and a fair amount of South America and Europe, and still she couldn't find the Brotherhood.

Honestly, at first she was dubious as to whether or not this would even work. But when she had tested it over Gotham, she had had to stop and had nearly vomited from the experience. Gotham was truly a dark place indeed, and the sheer evil emanating from the city was enough to make her nauseous.

Nightwing and Starfire had gone off to Gotham a few weeks before to work with Batman on the psychological profile for the Brotherhood while she and Cyborg had worked night and day to get the Watchtower set up. When they had returned, Cyborg had finished the modifications to the Watchtower dish and communication system. They entered the profile data into the main computer, which then narrowed the search area down to only a third of the Earth's landmass. This was indeed good news, but it still wasn't as much as the Titans had hoped for. It also didn't account for the oceans and large landlocked bodies of water. But they didn't have the time to complain about it. It had already been one week since Beast Boy's kidnapping and Raven knew that time was against them.

She was roused from her search by a hand on her shoulder. Looking over, she was surprised to see Wonder Woman standing behind her. She levitated down to the ground and uncrossed her legs so she could stand. The amplifier that Cyborg had constructed consisted of a large metallic sphere split in half so that both the halves were separated by five feet. When she was searching, Raven sat suspended in meditation in the middle and the device focused all the detected energy directly into Raven's mind. She and Wonder Woman exited from the chamber and sat down on a nearby bench.

"You look exhausted sweetheart," said Wonder Woman kindly. "You should really think about taking a rest."

Raven sighed, but couldn't shake the fog that had settled over her head. "You're right, and I know you're right, but I still can't seem to stop. What if the Brotherhood somehow anticipates all of this and they move around to avoid being detected? I could have already missed them countless times. And so far I haven't found anything." She sighed again and placed her head hands.

"But you will," said Wonder Woman, rubbing her back. "You're so very strong … and so is your love for Beast Boy. In the end, that's all that matters."

Raven glanced up at Wonder Woman and sweat dropped. "Oh Azar, did Starfire tell you … or is it that obvious?"

Wonder Woman chuckled and gave Raven a knowing look. "Sweety, even _you_ can't hide love."

Raven's cheeks burned bright red and she smiled faintly, brushing a few stray strands of violet hair out of her face. Wonder Woman calmly put her hand around Raven's shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. Had it been anyone else, she would have shied away from such a bold action, but she regarded Diana as one of the only motherly figures in her life, more so even than her own mother.

"Now, get some rest," said Wonder Woman, patting her shoulder softly. "That way you can get back to the search with full focus. And don't worry – I know you'll find him. I believe in you. And so does Beast Boy. "

* * *

><p><em><strong>The next day…<strong>_

The pain was excruciating. She'd never experienced anything as intense in her entire life, including the ordeal with her father. And more than just pain, she was overwhelmed with guilt, sorrow, fear, despair, loss, and more. She screamed in agony as all these emotions assaulted her at once and she collapsed onto the floor.

Flash was the first one to reach her (obviously) and he quickly went over and picked her up in his arms, taking her out of the spherical chamber and setting her down to rest on the bench. She didn't say anything at first and sobbed loudly, unable to control herself. The two of them were soon met by the other Justice League members and the three remaining Titans.

Wonder Woman walked over to Raven and knelt down to put her arm around her. Nightwing, who always felt responsible for the Titans, assumed Raven was injured and went over to comfort her.

"Are you hurt?" he said, concern in his voice.

At first she said nothing, continuing only to sob, though more quietly than before. Nightwing looked over to Cyborg, who had already grabbed a portable medical kit and was making his way over to Raven. But before he could even attempt to check her out, she held up her hand. She didn't look at them or say anything, but rather just nodded, as if to imply that she just needed a minute to get herself under control.

After a short while her sobbing had calmed down, though there were still fresh tears streaming down her face. She finally spoke, repeating only one simple phrase.

"They made him watch."

She repeated it over and over again, saying it a little sadder and quieter each time. The Titans and League all looked to each other in confusion.

"I am most confused – did the Brotherhood make a portable time-keeping device for someone?" Starfire inquired innocently, easily the most confused out of everyone.

"I couldn't find The Brain," said Raven, ignoring Starfire's question. "His telekinetic powers must allow him to mask his aura." She paused and took in a ragged breath. "But I did find Beast Boy."

The room fell silent, as if all the air had been sucked out. Starfire was the first to speak as she was overcome with excitement.

"This is wonderful news friend Raven. Let us make the haste and rescue him."

Starfire went to leave but was stopped by Nightwing, who had grabbed her arm. She looked at him quizzically, but he did not see her. His eyes hadn't left Raven the entire time.

"What do you mean 'they made him watch?'" he asked darkly, knowing what Raven was going to say and praying that it wasn't true.

At first she said nothing and only stared at the floor. Then she lifted her face, a single tear streaking down to her chin.

"They murdered the Doom Patrol. And they made him watch."

* * *

><p>Whoa, that was dark, even for me. Well, there you have it – the cat is out of the bag. I warned you all that this was going to be a rough ride and I applaud you for hanging on thus far. Thankfully, things can only go up from here. Or so you'd think (laughs evilly).<p>

I decided to post this chapter earlier than expected because a certain fan asked me to (you know who you are, and you're welcome). Stay tuned for the rescue, coming in Chapter 4, which should premiere sometime early next week. Until then, this is Lavender and Jade, signing off!


	4. Chapter 4: Found And Yet Almost Lost

And now the moment you've all been waiting for. If you've read the summary, you know where this is going. But I can promise you this – no more horror after this chapter, mainly because it has served its purpose (and also because I'm tired of writing it). It shall henceforth be replaced with other dark elements of my choosing – for this chapter, I have chosen fear. Oh, and future chapters will have way more dialogue. These first few are just a little too dark for that. And that's the way it should be.

Before we begin, I would like to take this moment to personally thank all my readers and reviewers. You've made this experience an absolute thrill for me. I never thought I could get so animated over my own work, but I truly am and it's all due to your encouragement and praise. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

And now, it's time.

**Disclaimer:** I could tell you that I don't own the Teen Titans or any DC universe characters, but I won't.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4 – Found And Yet Almost Lost<strong>

_**Now…**_

The stairway had been long, and during their descent, Raven had been thinking about Beast Boy. She could sense that he was here, which was a relief, but at the same time she was worried about what they might find. She could also since that the Brotherhood was no longer here, which she found to be strange. Why would they torture Beast Boy and then leave him behind? She had figured they would kill him after they had killed the Doom Patrol, but he was still alive. This was new territory for the Titans and the Brotherhood, and she didn't like it.

At the bottom of the stairway there was a single metal door. They all gathered in front of it, huddled together under the solitary light overhead. This was the moment they'd been working towards for weeks. And yet none of them could open the door. They knew now what Beast Boy had been through, and they were all scared.

Cyborg stepped up to the plate and placed his hand on the rusty door knob, turning it gently. With a strong shove, the door gave way to reveal a dimly lit corridor. On each side there were countless doors.

"All right Titans," said Nightwing, "spread out and search every room. We know Beast Boy is here somewhere, we just have to look." He paused and stopped them before they could proceed. "And we also know what the Brotherhood did to the Doom Patrol and Beast Boy, so be on your guard. If what Raven saw truly did happen, we could find more than just Beast Boy down here, and I can guarantee it won't be pretty."

The Titans all nodded, though Starfire seemed a little reluctant to check any of the rooms by herself. They spread out, each taking a door and opening it. Nightwing, Starfire, and Raven all sighed in relief when their respective rooms held nothing but equipment. Cyborg, however, was much less fortunate.

Cyborg opened his door and could just make out a small figure in the dark at the back of the room. With his bionic eye he could easily make out the figure of Elasti-Girl … or at least what was left. Her arms and legs were gone, her limbs having been ripped off, as if she'd been drawn and quartered. Against his better judgment, Cyborg proceeded further into the room to examine the body. The floor around her was stained in blood, indicating that she had died of blood loss and shock rather than the quartering itself. He moved over to get a look at her face and noticed that it was frozen stiff in mid-scream.

Her expression was more than he could take, and Cyborg stumbled back out of the room and began to heave his lunch on the floor in the hall. The other Titans stopped their searches and looked over at Cyborg.

"Don't go in there," he said grimly as he finished the last of his dry heaves.

Nightwing's face was drawn taut in grim acceptance. "Who was it?" he asked sadly.

"Elasti-Girl," Cyborg said, still looking down at the floor.

Starfire let out a small gasp and her bottom lip began to quiver. Raven also sighed, but seemed to be less phased by the discovery than her orange friend.

"We should give her a proper burial," she said. "We should bury all of them. It's the least we can do."

They all nodded in agreement. They all moved on to the next set of doors, each grabbing the door knob with a little more apprehension than before. Especially Cyborg.

This time, it was Starfire's turn. She opened her door to see the remains of a dismantled yellow robot. She strode over to the pile of plates and circuits and noticed that the head piece looked a little … strange. In fact, it had no face. A few sad tears escaped her eyes. Robotman was a great hero, and he deserved a tear or two for his sacrifice.

She exited the room, gently closing the door. The rest of the Titans turned to look at her and could see that she had been crying.

"I believe that is all that remains of Robotman," she said sadly, sniffling and wiping the wet stains from her cheeks. She was met with a comforting hug from Nightwing, whose own eyes seemed a little glassier than usual.

That meant there were only two left and then Beast Boy. And at the rate things were going, they would find the two remaining Doom Patrol members before Beast Boy. It almost seemed as if the Brotherhood had planned it that way.

The Titans proceeded further into the cold belly of the facility. Nightwing opened the door to a large room and was immediately accosted by the smell of burnt flesh. In the back of the room he could see a large pile of ashes. And off to the side, a pile of white ribbons. He gave no expression at the sight of Negative Man's burnt remains. After his years in Gotham, nothing surprised him anymore. He gently closed the door and turned to the Titans.

"Well, I found what's left of Negative Man," he said, his face betraying no emotion.

That meant only Mento and Beast Boy remained. And the Titans knew that the worst was yet to come. The Brotherhood absolutely hated Mento, and since he was the leader of the Doom Patrol, his punishment was sure to be the worst.

They were now at the end of the corridor and only two doors remained: one on the left and one on the right. It was like some twisted game show; behind door number one, a very dead Mento; behind door number two, a very broken Beast Boy. They just didn't know which one would be worse.

Nightwing stepped forward, having decided that this last choice should be his to bear since he was the leader. He chose the door on the left and proceeded to open it. Inside, in the very back of the room, there was a body slumped on the floor. The Titans all gathered in the room and walked over to the body of Mento. In all honesty, his death was the least gruesome of the four. And yet at the same time, it was the most horrific. It was immediately clear to all the Titans that The Brain had used his telepathy to drive Mento. There was a small drill on the floor next to his body, with blood stains dried on the bit. Mento, in the throes of insanity, had managed to drill a hole in his head in an attempt to bore out the demons, ultimately scrambling his already shattered brain (A/N: In the comics, Mento actually suffers quite a few mental breakdowns, so I thought this death would be a nice nod to that).

Now that they had found all of the Doom Patrol members, they knew what the door on the right meant. They exited Mento's room quietly and stopped in front of the final door. They all wanted to burst in and save Beast Boy, but no one had the courage to open the door. After what they'd already seen, none of them could imagine what had become of Beast Boy. Having to watch both his real family and his adoptive family die, powerless to save them – that was enough to break any man.

At last Raven walked over to the door and placed her hand on the doorknob. She turned the knob harshly and the door gave way with a ghostly moan, revealing a dimly lit room. And at the very back, chained to the floor and ceiling, was the slumped figure of a tall, green young man.

The sound of the med bay door echoed throughout the room as Cyborg entered. He was carrying a small tray of food as he walked silently over to the side of the large bed. He set the tray down by the bed and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head, looking first at the young man in the bed and then over to Cyborg. She looked completely exhausted.

"It's been three days Cyborg," she commented sadly.

He nodded in agreement and frowned slightly. "You've done all you can, Raven. Now, we just have to let Beast Boy's body do the rest. Don't worry, he'll wake up soon. He has to. And you'll see; Beast Boy's gonna be fine. He'll be back to his old self in no time."

Cyborg smiled confidently at her and his brow furrowed a little. He was positive and hopeful for his best friend, but she could tell he didn't actually believe what he'd said.

The incident had been tough on all of them, as they had expected. And while they all knew that things were going to be different for Beast Boy, some part of them hoped that when he awoke, he would be the same old, carefree young man that they'd all grown to love.

When they had found him, he was nearly dead. He'd been chained to the back of the dark room for a little over a week without food or water. It had been horrific for all of them to see how close he was to death. More than just the bruises, his face wore an expression of complete defeat, even now as he lay there in the med bay.

Raven had not left him since they had arrived back at the Tower. She and Cyborg had been working day and night to heal Beast Boy. Cyborg had been pumping him full of fluids, while Raven had been repairing some of his superficial wounds. Now, they could do nothing but wait. And in the waiting, Raven had relived that day over and over, unable to shake the sadness from her mind and the pain from her heart.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Then…<strong>_

As Cyborg and Nightwing worked to free Beast Boy from his chains, Raven had begun to heal some of the bruises and cuts on his face. Starfire had run back to the T-Jet to get medical supplies and had just returned with a wet rag. She handed it to Raven, who gently placed it upon his forehead. As Cyborg and Nightwing finally loosened and dismantled the last of his chains, Beast Boy slumped forward into Raven's arms. She softly laid his head down in her lap and began to wipe the dirt and sweat from his face. She continued tending to his wounds until he came round slowly, his eyes glazed over and his gaze unfocused.

There was a figure leaning over him, holding his face in its soft hands, but he was unable to make out its features in the dark. He caught the faint smell of lavender and jasmine and his heart began to race. But when his eyes finally focused on her, his heart caught in his throat as he unexpectedly beheld the face of Madam Rouge. Fear and terror gripped his throat, and it closed so tight he couldn't even breathe. He panicked and began to tremble in sheer terror.

Beast Boy shoved himself up out of her lap and ran, cowering away in the darkness, a sorrowful howl emanating from his throat. He had a deranged look in his eye, almost like a wounded animal. In terror, the mind sees what it wants to see, and for Beast Boy, it saw the Brotherhood in every face and heard them in every sound.

At first Raven was confused and a bit hurt. But she soon realized what was happening. It's amazing the horrors of the human mind, what it can do to a man, and what it can make a man do to himself. Beast Boy was completely terrified and his ability to reason had taken a backseat to his fear. In his mind, the urge to survive was greater now than his ability to think. And this made him extremely dangerous to himself and, more importantly, to the rest of the Titans.

Raven understood this and began to back away slowly.

"His mind is overwhelmed," she said bitterly. "We're not going to be able to approach him until he calms down. And worse, he's confused and angry, so he isn't thinking clearly. He could lash out it us if we try to help him."

She turned to the three Titans. "I'm going to try and reach his mind. If I can free him of his internal chaos, I might be able to bring him back to sanity. But I need you all to leave."

Nightwing frowned, but he understood. If his experiences with Joker had taught him anything, it was that a man's worst enemy was his own mind. He turned, motioning for the other two to exit the room. She closed the door behind them, shooting them one last look before she turned her eyes back to figure lurking in the shadows.

She had been anticipating that Beast Boy would change into the Beast to protect himself. If he did, she could then put him to sleep, as she did with Plasmas, and they could take him back to the Tower. But he remained in his human form. It surprised her that he didn't revert to his basic animal form. She could sense that he was holding back deliberately, that he was actually _afraid_ to change. His mind was overcome with terror at the thought of changing forms. Instead, he cowered in the shadows, cornered and afraid, like an animal that knows its time has come.

Raven could sense his consciousness slowly beginning to fade, overcome entirely by fear and the animalistic need to survive. This wasn't at all like when he changed into the Beast. When that happened, his consciousness slipped into a state of slumber, but it was still there. Here, his consciousness was dissolving, and soon there would be nothing left of Beast Boy except the part that was solely driven by instinct. He would simply become a poor beast trapped in the body of a young man.

She had to get through to him, to call his mind and bring him back to sanity, or he would be lost forever. She calmly levitated into the air and crossed her legs. Beast Boy watched from the shadows, never taking his eyes off 'Madam Rouge'. If he had been thinking straight, he might have found it odd that she was levitating.

Raven closed her eyes and calmly repeated her mantra over and over until she was able to attain transcendence, her soul self pouring forth from her like a well overflowing with water. Before Beast Boy could react, Raven's soul self shot through the darkness and penetrated his forehead. Raven's body slumped over slightly, and Beast Boy collapsed to the floor in silence.

Raven could hear the rushing of wind, and when she opened her eyes, she could see the edge of his mind like the dark edge of the universe, beyond which no light shines. Beast Boy's mindscape was a swirling eddy of memories and thoughts, all being swallowed up by a massive void at the center of his own inner-verse. The point into which his very mind was being sucked seemed very similar to a black hole. His mind had been the star, and when the stress had finally exceeded its limit, it had collapsed on itself, creating the void she now saw before her. But it wasn't too late – she could still save him. She just had to find him first.

Amidst the chaos she could hear many voices, some of which she recognized and others she didn't. The voices were like sirens, the wails of his memories as they passed whizzing by. But in all the chaos, she could still hear someone screaming for help. Someone she loved.

On the ground in front of the void, she could just make out Beast Boy, running as fast as he could to escape being pulled into the darkness. He was flailing his arms around as chunks of his mindscape flew by, hoping for something to grab hold of. Every few seconds he would glance back at the void as it ate away hungrily at his mind. In his panic he slipped and fell and was immediately swept up in the air by the current. He screamed and closed his eyes, knowing that this was indeed the end. But to his surprise he was stopped by a strong hand grabbing his own.

He opened his eyes to see Raven holding his hand firmly, straining against the outgoing tide.

"Raven?" he yelped, surprise and relief filling his face.

"I've got you Gar," she yelled. "Everything's going to be okay. Just don't let go of my hand."

She stood on the edge of the precipice, straining with all her might against the tug of the vacuum. She had to use all her strength to pull him up to her. With a wave of her other hand, she summoned a massive wave of dark energy and sent it crashing into the black hole. There was a loud explosion and a large flash of light, and then all was quiet, the void's hunger satiated at last.

The other Titans had been waiting impatiently outside. Nightwing was pacing back and forth in front of the door, unable to calm his nerves.

"Yo man, you need to chill out," said Cyborg.

Nightwing stopped and glared at Cyborg. He was met with an equally cold glare from his metal friend, and he sighed in acquiescence. "I know, I know. I just can't help it. What if she's not able to save him or worse, what if he kills her?"

Cyborg's expression softened but kept a serious tone. "That's the risk she willing to take," said Cyborg sternly.

Starfire, who had been very quiet up to this point, chimed in as well. "Friend Raven will not fail," she said confidently. "She will not allow herself to fail."

Just then they heard a loud thud come from inside the room. Nightwing burst into the room, followed shortly by Starfire and Cyborg. There in the middle of the room was Raven, holding an unconscious Beast Boy in her arms. As they approached they could see sweat running down Raven's forehead. She was also out of breath.

She lifted her head at Nightwing's touch, and spoke in a small voice. "He's fine. He's just sleeping. We need to get him back to the Tower. He needs fluids and food."

Then she slumped over onto Beast Boy, completely unconscious.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Now…<strong>_

Beast Boy slowly opened his eyes. The room was lit, but only dimly so that it wouldn't hurt his eyes. He recognized that he was on a bed in the med bay. Panic struck him at first. He knew The Brain could be devious and might be trying to mess with his mind. And he couldn't remember how he'd gotten here in the first place. But as he slowly adjusted to his surroundings, he became more convinced that this was real. He got a warm feeling in his stomach knew he was finally home. It just felt right, the first thing to feel that way in what seemed like ages.

He caught the smell of lavender and jasmine and for a split second he stopped breathing. Then he remembered his dream – he had been hurling towards a giant black hole and Raven had saved him. It had felt so real that he wasn't sure it _was _a dream. Either way, he was back at the Tower now, and for the first time in weeks, he felt relief.

As he tried to sit up, he noticed a slight weight on his shoulder and looked over to see Raven's violet hair in his face. She was sleeping peacefully, clinching softly to his hand. He was shocked at first, mainly because Raven hated to be touched and _never_ touched anyone else. Yet here she was, resting on his shoulder, her face blank except for an almost imperceptible smile.

He attempted to slide his shoulder out from under her but she stirred, and he mentally kicked himself. She lifted her head and sat up, looking sleepily around. Her eyes came to focus on his smiling face.

"You're awake," he said. "I tried not to wake you, but I guess I'm still a kind of a klutz." He scratched the back of his head nervously with his free hand.

She flushed a little at how close they were and would have jerked her hand away, but thought better of it. Beast Boy needed comfort now more than ever, and as much as physical contact bothered her, touching his hand wasn't the worst thing in the world.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, brushing some of her messy violet hair out of her face. She realized she must have looked very unattractive at that moment, but she honestly didn't care, since she never found herself attractive to begin with.

"Tired and sore. And definitely hungry," he said with a chuckle.

"I'll go get you some food," she said as she rose to leave. She tried to pull her hand away but he held fast to it. She glanced over and saw him looking at their hands together, a pensive expression on his face.

"I don't know if it was a dream," he began, "or if it was real, but something inside tells me that you saved my life. I mean, yeah, you all came to my rescue and kept me from dying – that's what friends do for each other. But you," he continued, only now looking up to meet her eyes, his voice just barely above a whisper, "you saved me from myself."

He paused and looked away for a moment, trying his best not to cry in front of her. He wasn't sure why he cared; after what he'd been through, he deserved a few tears. But he still had some of his pride left, so he waited until he was completely composed before he spoke again.

He looked into her violet eyes, and spoke with true sincerity: "Thank you."

She looked at him blankly, her brow slightly furrowed and a small smile on her lips, and she nodded. He could tell that she understood. Her eyes spoke the words that her mouth couldn't say.

"You need to rest," she said softly. "I'll go get you some food and be right back. And I'm sure the rest of the Titans will be happy to see that you're awake."

They both let go of each other at the same time and she turned to walk away. When she reached the door, she paused. She turned and faced him again, giving him a very serious look.

"I know this is going to be hard for you," she began, looking away momentarily and then returning her gaze, "but at some point, you _need_ to talk about what happened. I know right now it's too soon and you just want to put it out of your mind or deal with it by yourself, but you can't deal with something like this alone. Trust me, I've tried. So …sigh… whenever you're ready, I'll be here for you."

She turned and exited, and as the doors closed, Beast Boy sat silently for a moment. He felt surreal, as if the last five weeks had been a dream. But he knew they weren't, that he had really been kidnapped, and that he had watched his adoptive family die. Cliff, Larry, Steve, and Rita – they were all dead. And deep down, he felt as if it were his fault. He could have saved them, but he didn't try hard enough. He had failed.

He finally let his guard down and began to sob quietly into his hands. He cried for those that had died, for the horrors he had faced, and for the innocence was now lost to his heart. He'd already faced the sorrow and moved on from it – he'd done that while he was still imprisoned. Now, he wanted revenge, and he wanted it so badly. More than anything, he knew it was wrong. But the heart wants what the heart wants – even a heart of darkness. (A/N: Tip of the hat to _Heart of Darkness_. A great novel, I highly recommend it. Or you could just watch _Apocalypse Now_. Same thing.)

* * *

><p>Whoa, sad face. No more horror – I promise. Anger maybe, still some fear, even some sadness, but horror's definitely out. My plan is to have the full spectrum, with horror at one end and romance at the other. So stay tuned for the next chapter, which will probably make its way online sometime next week.<p>

Until then, this is Lavender and Jade, signing off!


	5. Chapter 5: The Monster

Welcome back – I couldn't sleep, which is good for you, because now I have another chapter to post. Like I said before, there will be no more horror (sad face, I know). However, there will be grief and remorse, and a little anger as well. In other words, still lots of dark things to write about. Anyway, away we go!

**Disclaimer: In what way is "I do not own the Teen Titans" not clear?**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5 – The Monster<strong>

Beast Boy knew the first few weeks back home would be difficult. Nightwing had removed him from active duty and prevented him from joining any of their missions. He wanted to give Beast Boy time to grieve. And so, Beast Boy had mourned, at least at first.

The first night after he left the med bay, he'd gone straight to his room. When he opened the door and entered, he recognized the room, but felt as if he were an outsider, almost like it wasn't his room at all. He had tried to sleep that night but found that neither bunk felt right – they were too comfortable, and he felt too safe. He slowly felt the bitter sadness in his heart fading, replaced now with anger. And slowly the anger began to turn into hatred.

He was enraged at the atrocities that the Brotherhood had committed – that part was at least understandable. But his rage slowly became overshadowed by self loathing. When he was being tortured, at first all he could think about was saving the Doom Patrol. But then he'd thought about what Mento would have done; he'd thought about breaking loose and defeating the Brotherhood. But in the end he'd done neither.

He'd been torn between two completely different actions, two scenarios of equally valid standing (in his mind). On the one hand, he could have saved his adoptive family, the people who raised him and taught him how to be a superhero – this would have been the choice of the Titans; they would have supported this above all else, even if the Brotherhood had escaped. But then again he could have taken the other route and tried to capture the Brotherhood, regardless of the loss to the Doom Patrol. This would have been Mento's choice. But he had been paralyzed with horror, and as a result did neither. Eventually, the fear within him overcame his need to fulfill any mission and in the end, Beast Boy had simply been too scared to act. And now, because of his inaction, the Doom Patrol was dead and the Brotherhood had disappeared again. And for that, he hated himself.

He had been sitting in the darkness of his room for the past few days cursing his complete ineptitude. Beast Boy had never second guessed himself before like this, and in retrospect he might have seen how ridiculous it truly was. The facts of the matter could not be disputed: the Brotherhood's plan had truly been flawless, and in the end there was nothing he could have done. But none of this even occurred to Beast Boy. Bitter hatred was slowly gnawing away at him from the inside out, starting with his rationality.

It was late at night when he was roused from his thoughts. From the edges of his blinds he saw a bright flash, followed shortly by a low rumble. A storm was heading in from the bay. Beast Boy felt his stomach gurgle and decided now was as good a time as any to get some food. He headed out of his room and down the hall towards the common room. When he entered, he found he was the only one awake and proceeded to head to the kitchen, turning the light on as he passed the refrigerator. He looked over to the couch and out the window at the bay. The room was quiet, save for the soft pitter-patter of rain on the large window.

He sat down at the table with a tofu chicken sandwich and a glass of soy milk. He stared off into the distance, lost again in thought. His mind kept returning to the funeral for the Doom Patrol, which was scheduled for the next morning at 10 AM. His throat began to tighten any time he thought about his former team. He constantly blamed himself for their deaths, almost as if he'd been the one that had killed them. He hadn't killed them, and he _knew_ it. But in his bitterness, clarity was not forthcoming.

He hated feeling this way – he truly did. And he knew it was wrong. But he couldn't get over the guilt and anger. Maybe Raven had been right; maybe he needed to talk to someone about it. Maybe he needed to talk to _her_ about it. Or maybe he just needed some way to forget for a while, some way to dull the pain, the hatred, all of it.

In his mind he saw himself apart from his body, a mere state of consciousness looking out from inside a shell. He hated himself so much, and he couldn't really understand why. He felt the anger was a part of him and yet distinctly _not_ him. It was the monster growing inside his heart, fed by his guilt and remorse. It gnawed at his very core, making him relive each moment of torture with increasing self recrimination.

He had looked in the mirror earlier that day and had not recognized himself. Instead, he had seen the monster. That's its true nature – it twists your perception of reality. It makes you see the darker side of things and torments you with them. And worst of all, the whole time, you know it's wrong. But in the end, the monster is all you've got. So you cling to it with all your might.

He stood up from the table, having never touched his food. He turned and headed out the common room, determined to find somewhere to be alone. He couldn't go back to his room – it reminded him too much of the boy he had been. But now that boy was lost, replaced by this faceless monster. And right now, the monster had a thirst that needed to be quenched.

* * *

><p>"Has anyone seen Beast Boy yet?" asked Nightwing as he straightened his tie. He looked up at the others and they shook their heads.<p>

"Well," began Cyborg. "I know he's left his room at least once this week cause' he left a tofu chicken sandwich and some soy milk out on the table." He made a face at the mention of the soy and tofu.

Starfire looked from Cyborg to Nightwing and back.

"Should we not go get friend Beast Boy?" she said innocently and her face saddened a little. "The Doom Patrol meant a lot to him. They were his family. Should he not be present as we lay them to rest?"

The others nodded, and just then the doors to the common room swished open to reveal a heavily disheveled Beast Boy. He was dressed appropriately, but only just. His hair was a disaster and his eyelids drooped. In fact, he looked downright terrible, like he hadn't slept in a week.

The Titans said nothing as he trudged into the room. This wasn't unusual for Beast Boy; he always was a little late to the party. But today was understandable. It was day of mourning, and at least he was dressed the part.

Nightwing finished primping himself and looked around. The rest of the Titans stood waiting, all eyes on Beast Boy. He had a somber expression, and the harsh reality of the situation had drained the life out of him, making him look ten years older than he was.

Raven walked over to Beast Boy to adjust his tie. She'd half expected him to object, but he didn't move at all. She didn't need to be close to Beast Boy to sense his feelings. His body radiated with sorrow, and beneath the sorrow, she sensed anger and guilt. But she could also sense that he was hiding something, and she couldn't quite tell what it was. His mind seemed clouded, and for some reason something felt a little off about him. She decided to put it out of her mind, for now.

"We should get going," Nightwing said at last.

They all looked to Nightwing and then back to Beast Boy. He looked up and paused, a blank expression on his face, as if he hadn't heard the question. Finally he nodded and turned to exit the common room. The rest of the Titans shared a sad glance and followed.

It was raining, just like the day before. The fog had rolled in from the bay, bringing with it layer of gloom. The early morning sun had been blocked by the mist, so the air was damp and cold. It was light out by now, but because of the low cloud cover and fog, the cemetery was showered with an ethereal glow that seemed to take the warmth out of every breath.

The funeral itself was a small affair; there wasn't a big reception, and there was very little activity before the actual ceremony. Beast Boy had chosen for them to rest in Jump City because he could think of nowhere else to place them. The Doom Patrol had been on the move for so long that they never actually had a place to call home. So Beast Boy had chosen it for them.

He had been asked a few days back whether they should be cremated or buried. As Negative Man had already been burned alive, the choice for him was quite simple. But rather than bury the rest of them, Beast Boy had felt that a mausoleum would be more appropriate, a landmark honoring their service to the people. It stood on the side of a large hill on the out skirts of Jump City, providing a great view of the city, though today there wasn't much to see with all the fog.

The mausoleum was actually rather simple, made completely out of white marble, and it sat snuggly up against the hill. A single willow tree stood further up the hill above it, providing cool afternoon shade. The doors were made of ebony and aspen (since Beast Boy would never allow ivory), interwoven together into a giant collage. He had wanted it that way, so that whenever anyone passed by the temple, they could get a glimpse of the Doom Patrol as they had been. He had wanted them to be remembered for the heroes they were.

The ceremony began with the pastor speaking a few kind words for each of the members therein interred. At the end he motioned to Beast Boy, who had prepared a closing speech. The young man nodded as the pastor stepped down and then took his place behind the podium. He looked sadly out over the crowd. He saw many Honorary Titans, all of his fellow Titans, some of the Justice League, and others. He even caught a glimpse of the Dark Knight, who stood leaning against a large oak tree at the far end of the cemetery.

He took in a deep breath. He steadied himself and began to speak, looking out blankly into the crowd.

"Thank you all for coming. The Doom Patrol would be very happy to see that such an illustrious group of individuals have come to pay their respects. When I first met the Doom Patrol, I was just a wayward young boy, lost and alone. But they took me in and cared for me when no one else would.

Before long they had become my new family. Rita was my mother … and Steve was my father… and Larry and Cliff were my uncles. We were a family of superheroes, and we all knew the risk that went with that. We always put the mission before the team and strived for excellence in whatever we did. When I left the Doom Patrol, it was over a difference of opinions, but they never left my heart, and they never will. What was done to them …and to me… was horrible, but I don't think that's how they would want us to remember them.

They were more than heroes; they were superheroes, all of them, and they fought every day for the freedoms that we all enjoy. They never questioned their duty, never complained when things were tough, and they …sniff… they never, ever gave up. That's how they'd want to be remembered. Let us now continue on that legacy – let us strive to be the best heroes we can be, and maybe one day we can also earn the right to be called superheroes."

Tears were streaming down his face as he stepped down from the podium, but he didn't care. He didn't look up as he returned to his seat. The ceremony came to an end as they closed the mausoleum doors. The guard was called to attention and began firing a few rounds in the air for each of their fallen comrades.

Everyone jumped as the shots were fired, including Raven. She was sitting next to Beast Boy and had placed a comforting hand on his back, rubbing it gently. She noticed that he was the only person not to flinch during the firing. In fact, he just sat there, his back stooped forward and his elbows on his knees, his face as cold as stone. He was crying, but it seemed as though he was unaware of it, as if he was disconnected from reality altogether. He just sat there and Raven realized the sad truth: this was his funeral as well. He had witnessed all of their deaths and mourned for them, but now he was crying for himself. Today, a small part of Beast Boy had died.

* * *

><p>She had always enjoyed the rain. The sound of the rain dripping against her window echoed throughout her room and gave it a soothing, calming essence. She especially liked to meditate when it rained. It was easier for her then, with the atmosphere so calm.<p>

She lowered herself down softly on the floor, having just completed another session. Her stomach felt a little empty from all the concentration, so she decided to go grab a cup of tea. She exited her room and began to walk down the corridor to the common room. As she passed Beast Boy's room she stopped.

Something felt … strange. She moved a little closer and stood in front of his door. She could sense that he was in the room, but she also felt that his mind was very clouded and unfocused. She placed a hand on his door and sighed. Things being what they were, she half expected that he'd never leave his room. It was never easy to bury friends, and it was even harder to bury family. And he'd lost two families in one lifetime. She understood his pain – she really did. He'd given so much to the world, to being a hero, only to have so much more taken away.

He'd said nothing after the funeral and had merely gone to his room. The rest of the Titans hadn't seen him in weeks, though they all knew his was there. He never left the room, and when Raven had passed by earlier a few times, she'd heard him crying.

She'd felt the guilt and anger emanating from his room daily. He needed his time to grieve – that at least was true. But at some point he had to let it go, to move on. The Titans had allowed him some space, but he'd been grieving for weeks, and it was time to put it to an end. But as much as Raven wanted it to end, she couldn't just make him stop. A couple of times she'd stopped by his door, trying to decide whether or not to go in. But she'd always stayed away. This was his burden to bear. He had to move past his pain on his own. If he wanted her help, he only had to ask.

She removed her hand from the door and proceeded down the corridor and into the common room. As she entered the kitchen, she collected her teapot and filled it with water, finally placing it on the warming oven top. The pot of water would take a while to heat, so she had some time to think.

She sat down silently and placed her elbows on the table.

_I wonder if Gar will ever be the same,_ she thought, placing her head on her hands and staring blankly at the wall.

_He's been through so much. And if it were me, I know I wouldn't want to see anyone for weeks. But Beast Boy loves attention, and it isn't like him to shy away from it. Maybe it's time for me to give him that 'talk' I promised. Or maybe I should just wait for him to come to me. Either way, he can't go on like this forever._

She found herself lost in thought a lot these days, and increasingly more about him. They were friends, yes, but in her heart she began to question whether or not there was something more to it than that. Was there something more between them? She didn't know – how could she? They'd never been more than hot and cold on even the best of days. And more often than not, he irritated the hell out of her. In the past, things never would have worked out.

But then again, the only constant in the universe is change. And between the two of them, things _had_ changed. She cared for him, more than just a friend. And Beast Boy cared for her – this she knew as well. But in the end, she kept coming back to the same question: what if it didn't work out? What if they just weren't meant to be? Sure, there was chemistry, but some compounds are only stable until you shake them. And a relationship would surely shake things up.

And yet, in all the confusion and all the drama, the simple fact remained that he'd been there for her when she'd needed him the most. When Malchior had betrayed her and broken her heart, he was there to comfort her. When Trigon had used her as a portal, he was there to support her. And when Adonis had kidnapped her, he was there to save her.

Now, when he needed her the most, where was she? Rather than support him in his greatest time of need, she'd left him on his own. She knew no other way – she had to deal with her problems alone, and so did everyone else. Or so she thought.

And suddenly she knew. She had been, and still was, wrong. You _can't_ deal with your problems alone. That only makes them worse. The weaker man is not the man who asks for help, but the man who does not offer it. You can't expect someone to ask for help – since when does anyone know when the need help? She'd offered to 'talk' with him when he'd wanted to, but not when he needed to. And now he needed it, even if he didn't want it.

Raven's thoughts were cut short by the whistling of the teapot. She grabbed her teacup and filled it with hot water, adding the green tea bag as the water level rose. She'd made up her mind – now she just needed to calm her nerves.

As she walked back down the corridor, she kept thinking about Beast Boy and how she could help him, or if she could him help at all. As Raven passed his door, she heard the distinct sound of glass clinking, followed by a pronounced thud. Then there was silence.

Raven lowered her teacup from her lips and slowly pressed her ear to the door. She heard nothing, not even the sound of his breathing. Something was definitely wrong. She could feel in her gut that something wasn't right. Moreover, she couldn't sense him _at all_, which meant he was either unconscious or dead. Circumstances notwithstanding, she decided that his privacy was the least of her worries.

She placed her teacup down by his door and phased into his room. The room was dark and had a musty, earthy smell she wasn't familiar with. She couldn't see very well, and rather than make a fool of herself, she thought it best to go the easy route. Leaning over to the side of the room, she flipped the light switch and looked around.

There were glass bottles everywhere. On the floor, in the bathroom, under his bed, on his bed, in his bed – everywhere. And all of them were whiskey bottles. That earthy musty smell – it was bourbon whiskey. There had to be at least thirty bottles scattered throughout his room.

At first, she was livid. She understood that Beast Boy was grieving, but this was unacceptable. He was a Titan, for Christ's sake – Titans weren't supposed to drink alcohol because it set a bad example. They were heroes, and because they were heroes, they were constantly in the spotlight. That meant they had to be responsible in everything they did. It didn't matter that he was over twenty one; he was supposed to be a role model, not a drunkard.

She walked over to the bed and noticed that his sheets were pulled away towards the window. She looked around the front of the bed and noticed two green feet sticking out from around the corner.

On the floor on the other side of the bed lay Beast Boy, sheets clenched in one hand and an empty bottle in the other. He was out cold and his breathing was shallow. She went to go clean him up and as she reached down she noticed just how pale he really was. His usual evergreen glow had been replaced by a somber lime hue, and his eyes had dark circles under them. He also looked extremely thin, like he hadn't eaten in a week.

Although his breathing was low, she could sense that he was conscious, but only just. His mind was on 'autopilot', which had made it very hard for Raven to sense his aura beyond the room. Moisture dripped down from his forehead and he shivered involuntarily as a single drop made its way across his cheek.

Slowly, her anger began to fade and was replaced with Sadness. She realized now just how bad things really were. He'd turned to alcohol to deal with his pain, and in the process had become an addicted to it. She was immediately overcome with guilt. If she had been there for him like he was with her, he wouldn't have turned to alcohol for comfort. Beast Boy had needed help and she wasn't there. And now it might be too late.

Raven frowned and knelt down next to him, running her hand through his soft green hair. As her hand passed his forehead he shuddered and she could feel the heat from his skin. He was drunk _and_ he had a fever. She sighed, her face set in a small frown. She pulled out her communicator and dialed up the other three Titans.

"What's up, Raven?" replied a very tired Nightwing. She could just make out the figure of Starfire lying next to him. He had a very dazed expression on his face, as he wasn't privy to late night phone calls.

The screen immediately split and the second half revealed an equally confused Cyborg.

"Yo, Raven, what's with the late night conference call?" he added, scrubbing his eyes and yawning.

"We've got a serious problem," she deadpanned, her tone serious and sad.

Nightwing was instantly awake, ever ready for action. Cyborg was also immediately onboard.

"What is it?" Nightwing asked. "What's going on?"

"It's Beast Boy," she said looking back over her shoulder at the unconscious Titan. "He needs help."

* * *

><p>And there it is – Chapter 5. This one took me a little longer to write because I couldn't quite figure out how to piece all the specific elements together without going over the top (which I still might have anyway). As for future chapters, things are going to slow down for a little bit for me as work has gotten more intense and therefore takes more out of me each day. Stay tuned, though. Chapter 6 should be up sometime next week.<p>

Until next time, this is Lavender and Jade, signing off!


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